Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Seats2 (1290 – 1832)
3 (1832 – 1885)

Seatsone

Cambridgeshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1290–1885
Seats	2 (1290 – 1832) 3 (1832 – 1885)
Replaced by	Chesterton Newmarket Wisbech
1918–1983
Seats	one
Created from	Chesterton Newmarket
Replaced by	SE Cambridgeshire SW Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a former Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It was a constituency represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, when its representation was increased to three until it was abolished in 1885.

It was reconstituted as a single-member seat in 1918 and abolished once again in 1983.

The county was represented by two Knights of the Shire until 1832, when the number of members was increased to three by the Great Reform Act. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished and was divided into three single-member constituencies: the Western or Chesterton Division, the Eastern or Newmarket Division and the Northern or Wisbech Division.

Under the Local Government Act 1888, the historic county of Cambridgeshire was divided between the administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. When the parliamentary constituencies were next redistributed under the Representation of the People Act 1918, Cambridgeshire was re-constituted as a single-member Parliamentary County, largely formed from combining the Chesterton Division (excluding areas that were now part of the expanded Municipal Borough of Cambridge) and the Newmarket Division (excluding the city of Ely which was included in the Parliamentary County of Isle of Ely).

The administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely had been recombined in 1965 and Cambridgeshire was further expanded in 1974 to include Huntingdon and Peterborough under the Local Government Act 1972. Under the subsequent redistribution of seats, which did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, Cambridgeshire was abolished as a county constituency, forming the bulk of the new constituency of South East Cambridgeshire and the majority of South West Cambridgeshire.

Boundaries

Prior to 1885

1290–1653, 1658-1885: The historic county of Cambridgeshire. (Although Cambridgeshire contained the borough of Cambridge, which elected two MPs in its own right, this was not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election. In the elections of 1830 and 1831, about an eighth of the votes cast for the county came from within Cambridge itself. The city of Ely also elected its own MPs in 1295.)

1654–1658: The historic county was divided for the First and the Second Protectorate Parliaments, between the two-member Isle of Ely area and the four-member constituency consisting of the rest of the county.

1918–1983

The administrative county of Cambridgeshire, excluding the Municipal Borough of Cambridge.^[1]

There were minor boundary changes in 1950, when some of the constituency was transferred to the Cambridge seat, which was expanded to align with the Municipal Borough, and in 1974, to align with changes to the county boundary.

Members of Parliament

Constituency created (1290)

MPs 1290-1660

Year	First member	Second member
1372	William Papworth
1373	Henry English
1377 (Oct)	Henry English
1381	William Papworth
1382 (May)	William Papworth
1383	John Andrew
1383 (Oct)	Henry English
1384 (Nov)	Henry English
1386	Sir William Papworth	Thomas Hasilden I^[2]
1388 (Feb)	Sir John Engaine	Sir John Chalers^[2]
1388 (Sep)	Sir John Engaine	Robert Parys^[2]
1390 (Jan)	Henry English	Simon Burgh^[2]
1390 (Nov)	Sir John Colville	Simon Burgh^[2]
1391	Sir Robert Denny	Simon Burgh^[2]
1393	Sir John Colville	Sir Robert Denny^[2]
1394	Sir Baldwin St George	Richard Hasilden^[2]
1395	Sir Edmund de la Pole	Thomas Hasilden II^[2]
1397 (Jan)	Sir Thomas Skelton	Thomas Hasilden II^[2]
1397 (Sep)	John Tyndale	Thomas Hasilden II^[2]
1399	Sir Payn Tiptoft	Richard Hasilden^[2]
1401	Sir Baldwin St George	Thomas Hasilden II
1402	Thomas Priour	John Hobildod^[2]
1404 (Jan)	Sir Payn Tiptoft	John Brunne^[2]
1404 (Oct)	Sir Baldwin St George	William Standon^[2]
1406	Sir Baldwin St George	William Asenhill^[2]
1407	Sir John Howard	(Sir) John Rochford^[2]
1410	William Alington	^[2]
1411	Sir Walter de la Pole	John Hobildod^[2]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	William Porter	John Burgoyne^[2]
1414 (Apr)	Sir Baldwin St George	Nicholas Morys^[2]
1414 (Nov)	Sir Walter de la Pole	Thomas Lopham^[2]
1415	John Hore	Nicholas Huish^[2]
1416 (Mar)	John Hobildod	Thomas Wykes^[2]
1416 (Oct)	William Alington	Sir William Asenhill^[2]
1417	Sir Walter de la Pole	Thomas Chalers^[2]
1419	John Burgoyne	William Goodred^[2]
1420	Nicholas Caldecote	Thomas Camp^[2]
1421 (May)	Sir Walter de la Pole	William Freville^[2]
1421 (Dec)	John Burgoyne	William Fulbourn^[2]
1425	John Hore^[3]
1429	William Alington of Bottisham
1431	Laurence Cheyne
1432	Laurence Cheyne	Henry Somer
1433	William Alington of Horseheath
1435	Laurence Cheyne
1436	William Alington of Horseheath
1437	Gilbert Hore	William Allington
1439/40	William Allington	William Cotton
1442	Laurence Cheyne	Thomas Burgoyne
1445/46	John Ansty the younger^[4]	Edmund Ingeldesthorp
1447	William Cotton	John Moris^[5]
1449 (Feb)	Sir John Say	Edmund Ingeldesthorp^[6]
1449/50 (Nov)	John Cheyne	Thomas Tynderne^[5]
1450/51	John Ansty the younger^[7]	Thomas Tynderne^[5]
1453/54	William Cotton	Edmund Ingeldesthorp^[8]
1455/56	John Ansty^[9]	Thomas Lockton
1459
1460/61
1461/62	John Ansty^[7](son of John Ansty in 1445)
1463/65
1467/68	John Ansty^[7]	William Frevill^[5]
1472/75	Sir William Allington	Thomas Grey
1478	Sir William Allington	Thomas Grey
1491/2	John Burgoyne	William Finderne
1510–1523	No names known^[10]
1529	Robert Peyton	Giles Alington^[10]
1536
1539	Sir Giles Alington	Sir Thomas Elyot^[10]
1542	Edward North	Thomas Rudston^[10]
1545
1547	(Sir) Edward North	James Dyer^[10]
1553 (Mar)	(Sir) Edward North	James Dyer^[10]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Huddleston	Sir John Cotton^[10]
1554 (Apr)	Sir John Huddleston	Sir Giles Alington^[10]
1554 (Nov)	Sir John Huddleston	Sir John Cotton^[10]
1555	Roger North, 2nd Baron North	Thomas Wendy^[10]
1558	Sir Giles Alington	Robert Peyton^[10]
1559 (Jan)	Roger North	Francis Hynde^[11]
1562–1563	Roger North, ennobled and repl. 1566 by Robert Peyton	John Hutton^[11]
1571	John Hutton	Henry Long^[11]
1572 (Apr)	Francis Hynde	John Hutton^[11]
1584 (Nov)	John North	Sir John Cutts^[11]
1586 (Oct)	John North	Sir John Cutts^[11]
1588 (Oct)	John North	(Sir) Francis Hynde^[11]
1593	John Cotton	John Peyton^[11]
1597 (Oct)	(Sir) Henry North	William Hynde^[11]
1601	Sir John Cutts	(Sir) John Cotton^[11]
1604	Sir John Peyton, 1st Baronet	Sir John Cutts
1614	Sir Thomas Chicheley	Sir John Cutts
1621	Sir Edward Peyton, 2nd Baronet	Sir John Cutts
1624	Sir Simon Steward	Sir John Cutts
1625	Sir Edward Peyton, 2nd Baronet	Sir John Cutts
1626	Sir Edward Peyton, 2nd Baronet	Sir John Cutts
1628	Sir Miles Sandys, 1st Baronet	Sir John Carleton, 1st Baronet
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened

Year	First member	First party	Second member	Second party
Apr 1640	Sir Dudley North		Sir John Cutts
Nov 1640	Sir Dudley North	Parliamentarian	Thomas Chicheley	Royalist
Chicheley disabled 16 September 1642 replaced 1645 by Francis Russell. North secluded 1648

Year	First member	Second member	Third member	Fourth member
1653	John Sadler	Thomas French	Robert Castle	Samuel Warner
1654	John Delbrow	Henry Pickering	Robert Castle	Francis Russell
1656	Robert West	Henry Pickering	Robert Castle	Francis Russell
1659	Sir Thomas Willys, 1st Baronet	Sir Henry Pickering

MPs 1660-1832

Year		First member	First party	Second member	Second party
	1660	Thomas Wendy		Isaac Thornton
	1661	Thomas Wendy		Thomas Chicheley
	1674	Sir Thomas Hatton, Bt		Thomas Chicheley
	February 1679	Gerard Russell		Edward Partherich
	August 1679	Sir Levinus Bennet, Bt	Tory	Sir Robert Cotton
	1693	The Lord Cutts		Sir Robert Cotton
	1695			Edward Russell	Whig
	1697			Sir Rushout Cullen, Bt
	1702	Granado Pigot
	1705	John Bromley
	1707	John Bromley
	1710			John Jenyns
	1717			Robert Clarke
	1718	Francis Whichcote		Robert Clarke
	1722	Sir John Hynde Cotton, Bt		Lord Harley
	1724	Sir John Hynde Cotton, Bt		Samuel Shepheard
	1727	Henry Bromley
	1741	Soame Jenyns
	1747	Soame Jenyns		Viscount Royston	Whig
	1754	Marquess of Granby		Viscount Royston	Whig
	1764	Marquess of Granby		Sir John Hynde Cotton, Bt
	1770	Sir Sampson Gideon, Bt		Sir John Hynde Cotton, Bt
	1780	Lord Robert Manners	Tory^[12]	Viscount Royston	Tory^[12]
	1782	Sir Henry Peyton, Bt	Whig^[12]
	1789	James Whorwood Adeane	Whig^[12]
	1790	James Whorwood Adeane	Whig^[12]	Charles Philip Yorke	Tory^[12]
	May 1802	Sir Henry Peyton, Bt	Whig^[12]
	July 1802	Lord Charles Manners	Tory^[12]
	1810	Lord Charles Manners	Tory^[12]	Lord Francis Osborne	Whig^[12]
	1830	Henry John Adeane	Whig^[12]	Lord Francis Osborne	Whig^[12]
	1831	Henry John Adeane	Whig^[12]	Richard Greaves Townley	Whig^[12]
1832		third member added

MPs 1832–1885

Election		First member	First party	Second member	Second party	Third member	Third party
	1832	Richard Greaves Townley	Whig^[12]^[13]^[14]	Charles Yorke	Tory^[12]	John Walbanke-Childers	Whig^[12]^[13]
	1834			Charles Yorke	Conservative^[12]	John Walbanke-Childers	Whig^[12]^[13]
	1835			Eliot Yorke	Conservative^[12]	Richard Jefferson Eaton	Conservative^[12]
	1841	John Peter Allix	Conservative^[12]			Richard Jefferson Eaton	Conservative^[12]
	1847	Richard Greaves Townley	Whig^[12]^[13]^[14]			Lord George Manners	Conservative
	1852	Edward Ball	Conservative			Lord George Manners	Conservative
	1857					Henry John Adeane	Whig^[15]^[16]
	1859						Liberal
	1863 by-election	Lord George Manners	Conservative				Liberal
	1865			Viscount Royston	Conservative	Richard Young	Liberal
	1868			Viscount Royston	Conservative	Hon. Sir Henry Brand	Liberal
	January 1874 by-election			Hon. Eliot Yorke	Conservative
	October 1874 by-election	Benjamin Rodwell	Conservative	Hon. Eliot Yorke	Conservative
	1879 by-election	Benjamin Rodwell	Conservative	Edward Hicks	Conservative
	1881 by-election	James Redfoord Bulwer	Conservative
	1884 by-election	James Redfoord Bulwer	Conservative			Arthur Thornhill	Conservative
1885		Constituency abolished, Chesterton, Newmarket and Wisbech from 1885

MPs 1918-1983

Election		Member	Party
Chesterton and Newmarket prior to 1918
	1918	Edwin Montagu	Coalition Liberal
	1922	Edwin Montagu	National Liberal
	1922	Harold Gray	Conservative
	1923	Richard Briscoe	Conservative
	1945	A. E. Stubbs	Labour
	1950	Gerald Howard	Conservative
	1961 by-election	Francis Pym	Conservative
1983		Constituency abolished, SE Cambs and SW Cambs from 1983

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	41,218	56.5	+9.0
	Labour	R Collins	17,929	24.6	−3.2
	Liberal	Stephen Ronald Jakobi	13,780	18.9	−5.8
Majority			23,289	31.9	+12.2
Turnout			72,927	78.3	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	30,508	47.5	+0.4
	Labour	Michael Peter Farley	17,853	27.8	+2.0
	Liberal	Stephen Ronald Jakobi	15,841	24.7	−2.4
Majority			12,655	19.7	−0.3
Turnout			64,202	76.0	−6.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.8

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	32,638	47.1	−7.5
	Liberal	Stephen Ronald Jakobi	18,826	27.1	+15.5
	Labour	Michael Peter Farley	17,930	25.8	−8.0
Majority			13,812	20.0	−0.8
Turnout			69,394	82.8	+7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−11.5

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	32,264	54.6	+6.9
	Labour	John Noel Hughes	19,993	33.8	−4.2
	Liberal	Morag Brown	6,861	11.6	−2.7
Majority			12,271	20.8	+11.1
Turnout			59,118	75.5	−3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	25,600	47.7	−0.3
	Labour	John Noel Hughes	20,433	38.0	+4.0
	Liberal	John Roderic Charles Beale	7,698	14.3	−3.7
Majority			5,167	9.7	−4.3
Turnout			53,731	79.2	−0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.4

Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Boundaries

Prior to 1885

1918–1983

Members of Parliament

MPs 1290-1660

MPs 1660-1832

MPs 1832–1885

MPs 1918-1983

Elections

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1830s

See also

References

Related Articles

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	24,883	48.0	−9.9
	Labour	Evan Rutherford	17,636	34.0	−8.1
	Liberal	Richard Moore	9,347	18.0	N/A
Majority			7,247	14.0	−1.8
Turnout			51,866	79.8	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.9

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pym	17,643	45.9	−12.0
	Labour	Robert Davies	11,566	30.1	−12.0
	Liberal	Richard Moore	9,219	24.0	New
Majority			6,077	15.8	0.0
Turnout			38,428	62.4	−15.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.0

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Howard	27,407	57.9	+3.6
	Labour	William Royle	19,928	42.1	−3.6
Majority			7,479	15.8	+7.2
Turnout			47,335	78.0	−0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Howard	25,025	54.3	+0.5
	Labour	Henry Walston	21,051	45.7	−0.5
Majority			3,974	8.6	+1.0
Turnout			46,076	78.9	−2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Howard	25,095	53.8	+7.5
	Labour	Henry Walston	21,558	46.2	+5.9
Majority			3,537	7.6	+1.6
Turnout			46,653	81.2	−2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Howard	21,846	46.3	+4.1
	Labour	A. E. Stubbs	19,046	40.3	−2.0
	Liberal	Richard Thomas Howlett	6,348	13.4	−2.1
Majority			2,800	6.0	N/A
Turnout			47,240	83.4	+13.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+3.1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. E. Stubbs	18,714	42.3	+10.3
	Conservative	Gerald Howard	18,670	42.2	−11.2
	Liberal	Lionel Edward Goodman	6,867	15.5	+0.9
Majority			44	0.1	N/A
Turnout			44,251	69.9	+2.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.8

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Briscoe	19,087	53.4	−14.9
	Labour	John Bellerby	11,437	32.0	+0.3
	Liberal	John William Payne	5,223	14.6	New
Majority			7,650	21.4	−15.2
Turnout			35,747	67.8	−2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Briscoe	23,742	68.3	+30.7
	Labour	Geoffrey Garratt	11,013	31.7	0.0
Majority			12,729	36.6	+30.7
Turnout			34,755	70.5	−4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+30.7

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Briscoe	13,306	37.6	−21.4
	Labour	Geoffrey Garratt	11,256	31.7	−9.3
	Liberal	John William Payne	10,904	30.7	New
Majority			2,050	5.9	−12.1
Turnout			35,466	74.7	+4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.1

General election 1923: Cambridgeshire^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Briscoe	11,710	43.6	+5.6
	Labour	A. E. Stubbs	8,554	31.8	−3.5
	Liberal	Elsbeth Dimsdale	6,619	24.6	−2.1
Majority			3,156	11.8	+9.1
Turnout			26,883	72.5	+1.7
	Unionist hold		Swing	+4.6

General election 1918: Cambridgeshire^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
C	Coalition Liberal	Edwin Montagu	12,497	65.1
	Independent Labour	A. E. Stubbs	6,686	34.9
Majority			5,811	30.2
Turnout			19,183	51.3
	National Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

By-election, 21 Mar 1884: Cambridgeshire (1 seat)^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Thornhill	3,915	58.2	*N/A*
	Liberal	Thomas Coote^[22]	2,812	41.8	N/A
Majority			1,103	16.4	N/A
Turnout			6,727	67.2	N/A
Registered electors			10,003
	Conservative gain from Speaker

General election 1880: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Speaker (Liberal)	Henry Brand	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Hicks	Unopposed
	Conservative	Benjamin Rodwell	Unopposed
Registered electors			10,023
	Speaker hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Briscoe	15,530	59.0	+15.4
	Labour	Geoffrey Garratt	10,781	41.0	+9.2
Majority			4,749	18.0	+6.2
Turnout			26,311	69.9	−2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harold Gray	9,846	38.0	*N/A*
	Labour	A. E. Stubbs	9,167	35.3	+0.4
	National Liberal	Edwin Montagu	6,942	26.7	−38.4
Majority			679	2.7	N/A
Turnout			25,955	70.8	+19.5
	Conservative gain from National Liberal		Swing	+38.2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Redfoord Bulwer	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elliot Yorke	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Manners	3,998	27.6	*N/A*
	Conservative	Charles Yorke	3,874	26.8	*N/A*
	Liberal	Henry Brand	3,300	22.8	*N/A*
	Liberal	Richard Young	3,290	22.7	N/A
Majority			574	4.0	N/A
Turnout			7,231 (est)	76.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			9,512
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Edward Ball	Unopposed
	Conservative	Eliot Yorke	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry John Adeane	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,157
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Ball	2,780	27.8	*N/A*
	Whig	Henry John Adeane	2,616	26.1	*New*
	Conservative	Eliot Yorke	2,483	24.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	George Manners	2,127	21.3	N/A
Turnout			5,079 (est)	80.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			6,298
Majority			164	1.7	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			489	4.8	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Richard Jefferson Eaton	Unopposed
	Conservative	Eliot Yorke	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Peter Allix	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,400
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eliot Yorke	3,871	29.4	+14.8
	Conservative	Richard Jefferson Eaton	3,261	24.7	+10.1
	Whig	Richard Greaves Townley	3,070	23.3	−12.1
	Whig	John Walbanke-Childers	2,979	22.6	−12.8
Turnout			6,469	96.4	+4.4
Registered electors			6,710
Majority			191	1.4	−2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+13.6
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+11.3
Majority			91	0.7	+0.6
	Whig hold		Swing	−12.3

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Charles Yorke	3,693	29.2
	Whig	Richard Greaves Townley	3,261	25.7
	Whig	John Walbanke-Childers	2,862	22.6
	Whig	Henry John Adeane	2,850	22.5
Turnout			5,923	92.0
Registered electors			6,435
Majority			432	3.5
	Tory win (new seat)
Majority			12	0.1
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Richard Greaves Townley	1,981	57.8
	Tory	Charles Yorke	1,445	42.2
Majority			536	15.6
Turnout			3,426	c. 85.7
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Whig hold

Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Francis Osborne	Unopposed
	Whig	Henry John Adeane	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Francis Osborne	2,339	37.8
	Whig	Henry John Adeane	2,086	33.7
	Tory	Charles Manners	1,757	28.4
Majority			329	5.3
Turnout			3,717	c. 92.9
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Whig hold		Swing
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing